FanHouse's Tom Ziller argues his ranking of the top 50 players in the NBA.
On the topic of overwhelming potency, few match Carmelo Anthony's weaponry. 'Melo's specific moves have been ogled perhaps more than those of any other current star: his assault of jabs, brawny pushes and flutters has become so infamous among the game's closest observers that even the casual recognize his powerful arsenal as spectacular.
But is the overwhelming output enough to squelch doubts about the rest of his game? I think those concerns are overblown, and the true nature of 'Melo is quite misunderstood.
First, rebounding: 'Melo get creamed for his rebounding. Anthony was #11 in rebound rate among small forwards last year ... just one spot behind LeBron James and ahead of guys like Luol Deng and Caron Butler. It was the best rate of Anthony's young career, yes. But he should be absolved of any rebounding criticisms going forward. He is far above average at his position in this category.
Defense? It has been disappointing, lackadaisical and ineffective in the pros. But the tools are there. We saw the whole lot of them in Beijing. I'm not blaming George Karl, but ... when the team is completely unfocused on sentient team defense, how is a 23-year-old supposed to deal in and change the world? Again: 'Melo's fault. He needs to play better defense. At least we know he has it in him.
For the first time ever, Anthony shot a decent clip from long-range last season, which buoyed his shooting efficiency. This a major step, because 'Melo has also taken a good portion of threes. Sinking some of them helps. Anthony also continued his policy of drawing a good number of fouls -- 7.7 FTAs per game, 11th in the league. He could do more to boost this by forcing himself to rim in place of a few of those shivering fadeaways.
But really, the kid scores 26 points a game on much better-than-average efficiency. Looking solely at offense, there might not be five NBA players better today. He's a solid step back from LeBron and Wade. But we're still looking at one of the league's brightest stars in 'Melo. The hate has been overwhelmingly wrong about him.
NBA Top 50
No. 50, Andris Biedrins, Warriors
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-16-2008 @ 3:46PM
Lou said...
U write all these nice things about Melo but yet you have him at 22. How does that make sense?
This list started off ok and then u've turned crazy somewhere along the way.
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9-16-2008 @ 4:10PM
SR said...
This list is about two things:
1. Current levels of hype regarding a player.
2. Out of context statistical analyses using primarily useless blogger stats like TS% and per minute production.
I hate how stupid and arbitrary these lists are; I wish I could stop reading.
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9-16-2008 @ 10:15PM
Pradamaster said...
Right, because Kevin Martin is more hyped than Tracy McGrady. Exactly.
And hell, Shane Battier is more hyped than Ron Artest. What idiot doesn't know that? And Jose Calderon is clearly more hyped than Monta Ellis. I can't go anywhere on TV without hearing Jose Calderon's name.
Explain to me how a list can simultaneously both be about "hype" and numbers while also being "arbitrary." Do you even know what those words mean?
9-17-2008 @ 6:43AM
James said...
You guys can always say what you want, but i find the rankings interesting from a different prospective (TS% and stuff). Although rankings can be questionable at times, but at least I find it good read.
Good job!
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9-18-2008 @ 7:42AM
Pete said...
What the dumb readers want is obviously "NBA's 50 Most Famous".
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9-17-2008 @ 6:31AM
Step said...
I was a big fan of his, as much as I could since i don't feel much for the Nuggets either way, but I've become less so. There's something less exciting and aesthetically pleasing now. He's slowed down like he's carrying too much topside weight and he never engineers any breathtaking drives. He remains an effective driver but one who looks heavy and slow in the air. That's only when driving though, his alley hoop dunking ability remains top notch.
His perimeter shooting game isn't all that diversified. His outside game consists primarily of jabbing a few times and then shooting. There's also a one or two dribble and then pull up jumper as well as catching and shooting. There's so much more a player can do: step backs to either hand, shotfaking your man in the air and jumping into him, rolling of screens, etc... He's missing a lot of crinkles to his game. But mostly, what's made me down on him is that I don't see the ultra quick powerful athlete I saw at Syracuse and his first year. I think he could be top-5 in the league if he played at a lighter weight.
I do have to say that his offensive rebounding is outstanding.
Averaging over 2 offensive boards for a non-big is no small accomplishment. Pound for pound and inch for inch, I think he's maybe the best offensive rebounder in the game. When he decides to go after an offensive board, more than times, he succeeds. That imposition of will is impressive.
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9-17-2008 @ 4:52PM
John said...
Josh Howard should take a look at the country he is living in and the predominant nation that the fan base is from. He does not deserve to play in America. Let him go to the country that best represents his thinking. Red or Yellow, Black or white has little to do with whether or not you should sing the National Anthem. He is a jerk and it is not because he is black. I do not honor his talent any longer.
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9-17-2008 @ 4:23PM
sook said...
you made me vomit reading this.
There can be no justification for you to put a sorry player like melo above AI and T-mac.
This is disgusting and you should seriously be ashamed, melo has done nothing.
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9-23-2008 @ 12:50AM
Drew said...
This is an ok list. I dont know why people hate on other people's opinions so much. They are opinions of someone so obviously he is going to seem to be "off" on certain players. Nothing he has said about players has been untrue or dishonest, he gives stats of the players and ranks them. And I think if you are to dumb to see how certain people can justify ranking Melo over AI and T-mac, you are obviously simple minded. His list is far different from mine, but it is a highly educated list that is not all that bad. And John, why would there be anywhere better than the US for Howard? Freedom of speech. It may seem dumb an imature to you, as it does to me, but I really doubt dumb things have never came out of your mouth. You are just lucky that nobody gives a sht what you think. And I dont think Howard could care less how much anyone honors his game so long as his salary stays in the millions. Anyways, good articles and list, very interesting
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